


My Equal, My Love

by arrows_and_fairytales



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Enchanted Forest, F/M, Lieutenant Killian Jones, M/M, Princess Emma Swan, Young Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Young Emma Swan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2016-01-18
Packaged: 2018-05-14 20:41:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5758108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arrows_and_fairytales/pseuds/arrows_and_fairytales
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"He knows that look-- having long ago fallen under the spell of the sea. It seems they had both found peace not in the stability of land, but in the restless and ever changing temper of the water."  Killian Jones treats the young princess as an equal, not as a royal--a move that will lead to friendship, trust and true love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Equal, My Love

**Author's Note:**

> jump-on-winds-back asked: a Lieutenant Duckling fic about Princess Emma blackmailing a certain Lieutenant into taking her sailing with him because she can't stand the castle anymore?

He meets her first as a young lieutenant, the early morning dawning as he catches sight of her on leaning on bow of the ship. His mouth opens to admonish her as to all the reasons a princess should not be alone on a ship, even one as fine as the Jewel. But his reasons die on his tongue the second he can see her face. He knows that look-- having long ago fallen under the spell of the sea. It seems they had both found peace not in the stability of land, but in the restless and ever changing temper of the water. 

 

And so he feins ignorance, calling her “lass” instead of “your highness”-- a disregard of custom which makes her eyes sparkle with joy. With the sun rising on the water, his earlier admonitions become a lesson in reading the waves and when she leaves sometime later the young princess returns to the castle with a gift more precious than any jewel in her tiara.

 

Friendship.

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From that morning on, she seeks his company whenever she can. She asks for tales of his voyages at balls--staying by his side for as long as she can before she swept away to dance with one aristocrat or another. When her father finally sends her on her first diplomatic mission, the princess--now seventeen--makes no other requests then to allow the Jewel to be the vessel that takes her to the shores of Arendelle. 

 

As the years pass, their letters shift from a friendly competition of stories to letters seeking advice and worries about a world outside of their respective control. And when the weight of her crown felt heavier than any stone, she would read again his declaration that he would be honored to serve a queen such as her--for surely she would command the strongest and the most benevolent navy in all the realms. 

 

She referred to him as a “constant presence” in her life to her dear friend, Elsa.

 

And he still treated her as he had that spring morning on the Jewel--not as a royal, but as an equal; following the one command she ever gave him.

 

_ He calls her Emma.  _

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It is not until she is eight and twenty that his presence at the castle becomes more than a fleeting moment--sailing out with the tide as frequently as it came in. Although he was now a captain, he was also the most skilled swordsman in her father’s navy second only to her father himself. As such her father had requested his services as the royal weapons trainer.

 

However, unbeknownst to the knights, the king did have an equal--a swordsman trained by his own hand. 

 

Princess Emma.

 

And if her father, who was fond of his new weapons trainer, all but requested that she cause a little mischief for the Captain . . . well, who was she to refuse?

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on Tumblr at [padawanwithacrown](https://padawanwithacrown.tumblr.com/) and don't be afraid to drop a prompt.


End file.
